EU, Singapore Sign Free Trade & Investment Protection Agreements

SINGAPORE, Oct 20 (Bernama) -- The European Union (EU) and Singapore have signed the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (EUSFTA) and the EU-Singapore Investment Protection Agreement (EUSIPA) Friday. “The EUSFTA and EUSIPA are progressive agreements, with ambitious provisions to create more opportunities for businesses from both sides,” Minister for Communications and Information and Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations S Iswaran said in a statement issued here late Friday. The agreements were signed on the sidelines of the 12th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit in Brussels, Belgium with the presence of Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. “This is the first Free Trade Agreement between the EU and an ASEAN country, and reflects the EU’s continued interest in engaging ASEAN and anchoring its presence in the region. “Both agreements serve as building blocks towards an eventual EU-ASEAN FTA, paving the way for future region-to-region cooperation,” said Iswaran. According to the Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), the EU and Singapore will now work towards ratifying both agreements, which will be sent to the European Parliament for approval. Once approved, the EUSFTA can be ratified and entered into force, it said. As a “mixed agreement”, the EUSIPA will additionally be sent to the regional and national parliaments of the EU member states for approval, before it enters into force, it added. MTI noted that Singapore looks forward to an expeditious ratification of both agreements so that businesses from both sides can reap the benefits. Malaysia has yet to have an FTA with the EU. It was reported that Ambassador and head of the EU delegation to Malaysia Maria Castillo Fernandez said the EU-Malaysia FTA will be a key pillar in the bigger framework of EU-ASEAN FTA. “As the EU has already formed FTAs with Vietnam and Singapore, and discussions are ongoing with Indonesia and the Philippines, Malaysia is one important but missing link currently that we urgently want to connect,” she was quoted as saying at the EU-Malaysia Trade and Investment Forum 2018 recently. -- BERNAMA